Londoners are welcoming a regulator getting tough with Thames Water, ordering a reduction in their bills.

The campaign by Navin Shah, Assembly Member for Brent and Harrow, has been successful, and the water company may now have to reduce the prices from Londoners' bills by five per cent over the next five years.

Mr Shah said: "For the many Londoners struggling to cope with years of stagnating wages and rising living costs that announcement will be a great relief.

"Water isn’t one of those bills you can avoid, nor do we have a choice about our supplier. For too long water companies have had customers over a barrel – there was nowhere to turn when prices rose.

"The 5 per cent reduction will, on average, mean a £17 cut to bills in Brent and Harrow.

"Whilst that’s encouraging water companies are still allowed to increase their overall prices with inflation. That will mean people could quite quickly end up paying more."

Mr Shah accused the Mayor of London Boris Johnson of 'taking his eye off the ball' in not taking on the utility companies himself.